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I’m going to generalize here, but I think gym rats (or would it be “box rats” now?) have an addiction to workout gear, clothes, tools, etc.

I say that because I can’t seem to stop buying new things to work oit in. I just decided to allocate a portion of my budget to gym gear because I KNOW that I’m going to come across a new top, capris, socks, gloves or whatever thay I “need”.

Don’t get me wrong, some items are necessary. My workout gloves are dying and I know it (multiple holes that can’t be patched or they will create calluses or blisters). My new weightlifting shoes (Oly classes on deck!) to keep my knees tracking properly and stabilize my feet/ankles; as my loads get heavier, stability is a must!

These items, as well as my future weight belt, knee gloves, etc., are just as essential as eating the right foods, or sleeping a full 8 hours (oh the joy!). You have to have the right tools inorder to take advantage of the benefits.

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Like sincerely, I HATE running. I don’t see a huge purpose to running around a block, multiple times for the sake of shin splits, blisters, sweating like a wildebeast and puffing like a broke down steam train attempting to get air into lungs that are working so hard that my tongue feels like cotton and my my throat the Sahara.

I hate it so much, that I do my best to never skip a WOD that incorporates it.

I can hear some of you now: “Why the hell do you purposely go to WODs that you hate?”

Answer (a la Plato..or was that Socrates?): How the hell do I expect to get better at my weakest event if I always skip it?

I won’t. So I go. Mostly because I know it will lead to more improvements.

Since joining my box, my loads have increased steadily and I have laserlike focus when it comes to listening to my coaches and processing th information for my individual needs. I know lifting is for me; hell I know it so much that I just spent over $200 bucks (of money I know damn well that I do NOT have) on some new Nike Romaleos 2 that finally got restocked in my size! I spent the money because I’m investing in the tools I know I’ll need to improve.

Sidebar: I’m so a Nike girl till the day I die…I can’t even consider Adidas or Reeboks without getting green around the gills…really it’s just my opinion.

I read about Olympic Weighlifting, I watch videos of Elizabeth Akinwale and Camille Leblanc Bazinet and track instagrams of (OMG) Diane Fu (@dianefu)and her clients (#fubarbell), I practice movements/mechanics in a fluffy towel in my bathroom, post shower, while talking to myself about what I did right and what I did wrong during strength training. #noshame

If I had a choice between lifting or running or doing a WOD, I’d lift.

However with all that said, I will never get better at Olys, if I ignore the other side of strength: endurance.

My endurance, in a word, sucks.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s better than it was when I started CF six months ago (a few times I came close to having a pukie moment), but that’s primarily because I force myself to do those 25 or 30 min conditioning metcons..rows, interval runs, even freaking tabatas (20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, for four minutes equals 8 rounds of hellfire!).

I’ll never do marathons (mostly because they don’t interest me, but also because I’m a lifter, not a runner!) Those conditioning met-cons all contributed to my current ability to run two full blocks without stopping [at all], row 500 meters in 2.5 minutes and sign up for my first ever 5K and not think that I’m going to die in the first mile.

My coach Splinter, who laughs in my face everytime he sees me at a conditioning WOD, because he knows I hate running (might be the upset/crunk look on my face causing him to crack up lol), said I’m doing good…going after the things that I hate vs. relying on my strengths. I’m becoming a better all-around athelete, which then contributes to getting better at my lifts.

I’m happy to say that I WOD what I hate…and I’m proud of myself for facing my fears, my hangups about running and just going after it as much as I can; setting goals and attaining them.

If I can do it in CrossFit, I can do it in my job, my career aspirations, my relationships, my entire life.

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You remember Gabby, right? She won the individual all-around Gymnastics Gold Medal in the 2012 London Olympics. Ring a bell? Gabby the “Flying Squirrel”Douglas, nicknamed such by the great Marta Károlyi, long time coordinator for Team USA and wife of the equally fantastic Béla Károlyi. In a nutshell, she’s the gymnastic wunderkind that earned every accolade the hard way: sacrifice, blood-sweat-tears, extensive practice, innumerable drills and a personal drive that could inspire even the most jaded among us.

Me? I’m more “Jumping Wolverine” than “Flying Squirrel. I’m short, somewhat uncoordinated, less flexible (way less!) than a pre-teen, cautious about falling on my head and going “boom” and definitely older than 16.

Gabby, by age 8, managed to squeeze in more v-ups, handstands, walking handstands, splits, straddles, bar muscle-ups, etc., (and won a state championship!) than I have in my entire 30+ year life. Such a thing would make most people depressed and feeling as if, at this stage of the game, there is not much that I can do to catch up to, or compete with, that.

It’s a good thing that CrossFitters are not “most people”.

We are, if nothing, a determined and stubborn folk; both competitive and hard headed enough that when confronted with a new movement, we say “screw it” and give it a try. At first, we just want to get the movement by any means necessary; muscles bulging, face red (or a lovely smurf-like blue) due to lack of oxygen, but eventually we strive to get it right. We learn that the effortlessness that athletes exude is the culmination of good coaches, constant practice, a few spills, the steely will to get back up over, and over again, striding to the bar a little bruised, but a lot more resolute.

As hard charging as we are, every so often (typically after an hit to the ego…) we recognize that we need more help. We realize that we have to practice outside of the WOD structure to improve in the more technical, skill-heavy aspects of Gymnastics, Weightlifting, etc. I personally learned, the hard way, as a 2013 CrossFit Open competitor, that gymnastics and the coordination and skill inherent to it, will always rear it’s ugly head (CrossFit Open 13.3 and 13.5!!!).

Enter my extra Gymnastics classes. I take my perfectly clear and easy going Sunday afternoons and choose to work with a certified gymnastics coach to get better at my chosen sport. The class is small and focused. I work on my individual weaknesses with a coach that critiques my form, fixing my head placement and explaining the gravitational dynamics of a kipping pull-up in such a way that even an 8-year old would get it. My coach’s knowledge, experience and simple joy in teaching, gives the confidence necessary to try something that you never thought you would or could do…at least not beyond second grade. What’s more is that it’s included in my normal fee (#winning).

Occasionally we end with a WOD, but the point of the class is to to focus, identify, dissect, adjust and implement…and laugh. A lot.

I make it a point to hit that class and as a result, I’m improving. I’m using less “muscle” and becoming more proficient. By the end of summer (August 2013) I will have my Muscle-up, my Hand-Stand and my Kipping Pull-up. This is me, putting it out there, loud and clear. That class is a huge reason why I know that I’m going to hit my goals.

So, here’s the thing: Gabby did it as a teen-ager. I’m doing it when puberty is CLEARLY not on my side (that boat has long since passed!). And really quick: a wolverine is one of the most ferocious creatures on earth, often taking down prey much larger than it. Once it has it’s teeth in you, you can’t shake it loose because a wolverinIe just doesn’t quit; it doesn’t back away slowly or give in to self-doubt. It. Just. Fights. The Wolverine is “the best there is at what he does…” (#nerdgirl). Can you see the “Jumping Wolverine” appeal now (beyond the obviously hairy, carrion-eating aspect of it all)?

I am definitely not Gabby Douglas and really, so what? I have my own training team: my coaches are my Béla/Marta, and my box mates are my gang, crew, and competitive menagerie: my very own CrossFitting fantastic five.

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